LYTH
This discussion reminds me of a large client I got called in to regularly support. The ORIGINAL policy of the company was "As long as the work gets done we don't care what they do on the net." Then we replaced the aging firewall with an Untangle unit. When we presented the owners with just a week's worth of usage data they were shocked. They had us implement severe restrictions in the web filters. The lesson learned was a meme that applies here.
"IT services and devices are tools a company uses to get a job done. If it's ours we can tell you what to do with it and how. Leave your toys at home, this is a job site."
Bring Your Own Device is simply letting the inmates run the asylum. IT's job is to keep current, test, recommend, and implement manageable solutions of and for the business. The pressure for board rooms and upper management to give them what they think they need (but is really just a want of the a new shiny sparkly toy) is nothing new. Any admin or consultant who has been in the business for a week or less knows this. It's just hype. And now with a great 4 letter word... I mean acronym, made up for it by marketing, unearned validity is trying to be created. The argument is still just rehashed crap. We standardize tools for employees to ensure the productivity, compatibility, and security of the enterprise thus improving IT's standing as a profit center instead of a cost center and reducing support problems.
There was a time not long ago at all, that the Blackberry was the undisputed mobile platform king. Laptops chosen for departments were based on need. Everything was written off in taxes for the business. IT stayed open to RECOMMENDATIONS and REQUESTS for changes in the solutions. Personal devices are just that, not the business's property. No write off, and not incorporated into the IT's support plans. Business is embracing is just code words for sales and marketing saying GIMMIEE and spinning buzz.
So here's a message back, "LYTH to you. Leave Your Toys Home. We won't take your commissions on sales, kick you out of your nice offices, or park in your reserved spots if you simply let the IT department keep your network running smoothly and securely without telling us how to do OUR jobs. "
We may not have an MBA (maybe we do but you never asked,) but you (BYOD marketers) sure don't have a MCS or even a + level cert without a boot camp. Tech is what we do and what we live, we take pride in what we do and the ease with which we make it look doing it. We standardize to keep the system safe and stable. Quit trying to do our jobs, your lack of knowledge could cost the businesses everything, or just a lot of money. So ya willing to risk your annual bonus much less your paycheck on that latest must have toy that IT doesn't have in it's support plan? Well I'm not.
